Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3 Movie Review

Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3 is a continuation of the story of the earlier film. Saheb (Jimmy Sheirgill) is in jail for a murder charge), and is smouldering to get even with his wife when he comes out. Biwi (Mahie Gill) is still a nymphomaniac but is also dabbling into politics and has become a power broker of sorts for the region. She wants her husband to rot in the jail for as much time as she can possibly arrange. The Gangster (Sanjay Dutt) is the new entrant to the game. He's a goon based out of London, who runs a club called House Of Lords and has a fetish for playing Russian roulette. He's trapped in an unhappy marriage and wants out at any cost, longing to return to India and his ladylove, Suhani (Chitrangada Singh) who happens to be a nautch girl adept at both Kathak and guitar. Global fusion, anybody? Soha Ali Khan reprises her role of a younger wife but is reduced to being a vegetable through most of the film. Zakir Hussain plays Soha's father who wants revenge, while Kabir Bedi and Deepak Tijori play Sanjay Dutt’s relatives who want him out of the way. It's a setting ripe for intrigue and that's what gets served to us in heaps right from the first frame...

Director Dhulia, who has co-written the film along with Sanjay Chauhan, sets up a brisk pace and presses on relentlessly, pushing one twist onto the viewer after another without letting go. Secrets get revealed at every turn with such dizzying intensity that one tends to lose count after a while. Characterisation is the key factor in the story and Dhulia has let each character flesh out. Jimmy Sheirgill, who is angry at first, is later shown to be a husband who is envious of his wife's political success and wants that power for himself, even if it means letting bygones be bygones for the time being. Mahie Gill is a woman who thinks she can charm her way into anything and concocts a web of lies because she loves playing the game for the highest stakes. She's totally corrupt and yet is shown to have a vulnerable streak. She has carved a niche for herself in a man's world and is unwilling to let it go out of her grasp. And Sanjay Dutt is shown to be someone who is tired of his violent past and just wants to start a new life, willing to do anything to achieve that end. His is the character you most sympathise with as he genuinely wants to turn over a new leaf and is aware about his shortcomings. The film piles on intrigue upon intrigue but goes for a Shakespearean finale in the end, culminating in a bloodbath that makes you realise the futility of it all...

Mahie Gill is the soul of the film. She changes emotions like a chameleon and has the best lines at her disposal. She makes a complex character look easy and makes you fall in love with her completely unscrupulous persona. The film would have faltered in the hands of a lesser actor but she juggles all the twists with aplomb. Jimmy Sheirgill has got a more rounded character than what we saw in the earlier two films. He’s in tune with his avatar throughout, bringing forth both the angst as well as the misery though his eyes and expressions. Sanjay Dutt plays another larger-than-life character and made it his own. You feel like you're watching an actual game of Russian roulette when Baba is playing it. And his angry burst at the end looks heartfelt.

The film offers a critique on the state of India's royals in passing, reflecting that they are still living off the reflected glory of their glorious past and are refusing to be in touch with the times. Dhulia has shot the film in Rajasthan and the Indian scenes do offer a glimpse of the past grandeur. His London scenes are all garishly lit and hence seem out of tune with the Indian portions. Dialogue is simply cracking and rises above the convoluted plot. The addition of songs was unnecessary and eats into the narrative.

All in all, Dhulia has made an entertaining film which thrives because of the efforts of its main cast. It's an earthy saga, where the boundaries between good and evil are almost nonexistent and hence might not prove to be everyone's cup of tea...